AI, graphics engines and Virtual Production have evolved to a level where world class conferences can be achieved nearly on demand, with a consistent aesthetic limited only by the imagination, says Distortion Creative Group’s new CEO Rob King:
After my recent appointment as CEO at Distortion Creative Group, a careful examination of the future of each market was undertaken, and conferencing, of course, was paramount. The good news is that technology is enabling better, more frequent and more immersive conferences that truly showcase your brand.
The ‘game changer’ underpinning this new era is the prospect of ‘perfect repetition’. If, for example, you want to recreate the same event aesthetic for your staff every quarter for in-person financial presentations, or once a week for video newsletters, recent technological advancements are making the unthinkable possible.
This evolution is so significant that companies are rethinking not just their events, but how they communicate in general.
Hollywood, anywhere, anytime
The possibilities for how Virtual Production can work with software like Unreal means the visual worlds you can create for your conference are now virtually unlimited, and to a standard only previously seen on the big screen.
Virtual Production is a relatively new technique, enabling stunning in-camera visual effects and captivating environments on demand. Stock footage from any location worldwide can be repurposed and reimagined instantly to build a distinctive virtual world for your brand. Increasingly however, companies are shooting their own backdrops and set pieces that can be quickly tailored and brought up to the minute to fit a given event theme or narrative.
After you’ve chosen your conference look and feel, all that remains is a short session in front of the camera, and a bit of magic from Unreal, to bring your content to life in plenty of time for the big event.
The Apple effect
There’s long been a demand to make company presentations akin to the Apple Keynotes: combining live talks with energising pre shots. These kinds of jobs were previously quite laborious.
A few years back, we handled an AGM for one of the biggest chip providers in the world. We didn’t have any creative direction, but they told us they wanted that ‘keynote look’. They recorded all the camera tracking data, but they did all the work in post-production. Due to the restraints at the time, this took twice as long as if we just did it in Virtual Production. And it took a long time to render, which isn’t such an issue in 2024.
Virtual Production has given conference managers the ability to shoot pieces to camera on the fly to bring a voice of authority to lift any live event. Virtual Production might sound pretty techy, but really, it’s a return to old school filming techniques, with moving objects and miniatures on set allowing for a tangible experience. This really suits CEOs who don’t have a lot of time on their hands.
Interactive and intuitive
We’d be remiss not to mention the role of AI in all this. Tools like Midjourney and Firefly allow bespoke visual effects to occur in near real time. What that might mean for your company is dizzying to imagine. One thing I’m particularly excited about is the ability to blend real-world sets with their Unreal counterparts using hi-res scanning techniques. This also points to an area that is rarely discussed: the need for brilliant set builders that work extremely closely with your Unreal team.
The connection between real world foreground elements and Unreal background elements means we will always need talented humans involved. Even if we create backgrounds in AI, they still need to match something built in the real world. Costume, lighting, and camera control will always need to be done by creatives. Meanwhile, make-up becomes extra important in Virtual Production, and the list goes on and on.
Technology, then, is rapidly evolving to meet our ideal self expression, but remains something that will always need thumbs to use. Which gets a thumbs up from me.
